Big 12 Tournament 2015: Preview, Predictions and Players to Watch

Despite being upset on Saturday by the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners, the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Big 12 tournament. Their efforts have produced a bye in the single-elimination competition.

Games begin on Wednesday, March 11 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The No. 8-seeded Kansas State Wildcats be taking on the No. 9-seeded TCU Horned Frogs. In the second game of that day, No. 7 Texas will take on No. 10 Texas Tech.

The winners of those two games will move on to face the Jayhawks and No. 2-seeded Iowa State Cyclones, while the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seeds also compete for a chance to advance to the semifinals.

The finals will be played on March 14. Click here to see the full bracket.

Players to Watch

Kelly Oubre, Guard, Kansas Jayhawks

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The 2014-15 season has had its ups and downs for Kelly Oubre, but there's reason to believe he may be headed for a strong finish to his freshman campaign. He's strung together four straight double-figure scoring efforts and begun to look more confident.

If he can take the next step in the Big 12 tournament, the Jayhawks will become even bigger favorites to win postseason conference bragging rights.

Buddy Hield, Guard, Oklahoma Sooners

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Buddy Hield's tip-in at the buzzer led the Sooners to victory over the Jayhawks in the regular-season finale. He didn't shoot the ball exceptionally well in the game but still finished with 18 points.

Hield is the conference's top scorer at 17.4 points per game. The sharp-shooting 2-guard may have secured conference Player of the Year honors with his latest heroics. What can he do for an encore in the Big 12 tournament?

Myles Turner, Forward, Texas Longhorns

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Myles Turner has the potential to be the most dominant player in the Big 12. The 7-footer is already an elite shot-blocker and his shooting ability extends out beyond the three-point line.

This season, the freshman is leading the conference in blocks with 2.8 and averaging 10.8 points per game.

David Ray of NBADraft.net compares Turner to Portland Trail Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge:

"

Turner is a very intriguing prospect due to his length, offensive foundation, and defined NBA position ... At just 18 years of age, he has plenty of room to grow, and a very high ceiling ... A lot of his early shortcomings, are things that can be ironed out or improved upon with experience and physical maturation.

"

Texas would love to see Turner turn the corner as a prospect and be as dominant as he can be.

Who Wins it All?

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Despite the fact that Kansas will go into the tournament on a loss, it is still the strongest team in the conference. If the Jayhawks are forced to play without freshman forward Cliff Alexander, the going will be a bit tougher.

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Alexander is the subject of an eligibility probe that has kept him off the court over the last three games of the regular season, per Pat Forde and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Alexander's energy and aggressiveness near the basket have been assets for the team at points during the season. However, head coach Bill Self was seemingly transitioning away from Alexander even before the school elected to remove Alexander from competition while the probe takes place.

Alexander's minutes had dipped noticeably.

That decision by Self has better prepared his team to play without Alexander, and it's partially the reason Kansas remains my pick to win the Big 12 tournament.

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